Machine for shaving graphophone-blanks.



H. P! ROBERTS:

MACHINE FOR SHAVING GRAP'HOPHONE BLANKS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-21,1911.

1,147,441 Patented July '20, 1915.

{SHEETS-SHEET 1.

. f;' l- ROBERTS. MAcH'qm-i For: SHAVING GRAPHOPHONE BL-ANKS.

APPLICATION FIL'ED JAN. 21. 1911.

Patented July 20, 1915.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

1721/6 nior:

HENRY r. ROBERTS, or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

MACHINE FOR SHAVING GRAPHOPHONE-BLANKS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 21 1911. Serial No. 603,800.

phones, phonographs and similar machines for recording sounds, etc. In machines of this class as heretofore constructed it has been customary to remove a record from a blank by shaving off a thin layer from the.

surface of the blank to present a new and smooth surface adapted to receive another record, and in such machines as heretofore constructed the cutter employed for removing the surface of a record blank has been located in its Working position by adjusting it by hand to out a chip of the desired thickness. In practice it has been found that it is (liflicult for careless or inexperienced operators to locate the cutter in its proper Working position and that the cutter is frequently pushed into the surface of a blank to such a depth thatvan indentation is made in the surface of the record blank of a depth much greater than the chip necessary to be removed for the purpose of shaving off the record on the blank. When this occurs it is necessary to shave the surface of the blank several times before the whole record surface of the blank is smooth again, and unless such an indentation is obliterated it will interfere With the making of a perfect record the next time the blank is used.

Moreover, the cutter, Which is usually a sapphire, is frequently injured by improperly locating it in the manner just described and has to be replaced. When a deep indentation is made in this way in the blank and an unnecessarily deep shaving or series of shavlngs removed from the surface of the blank the storage capacity and consequentlybest and most carefulroperator. In order to accomplish this result I provide a cutterlocating device the working face of which when in its operative position for determining the position of the Working face or edge of the cutter is at a predetermined distance from that of the cutter, this locating device being so combined with the other parts of the machine that when, for example, its working face is brought into contact with the surface of the blank to be shaved the Patented July 20, 1915.

working face of the cutter will then be spaced a short but predetermined distance from the surface of the record blank andmay be brought to its working position for taking a chip by shifting the cutter-carrier from an idle to a Working position, the

former corresponding, in the commercial graphophone, to the position of rest of the blank, and the latter corresponding to the position of the parts when the blank is rotated.- In the species of shaving ma- I chines in which the cutter and its carrier are not shifted'from an idle to a working position after the cutting position of the cutter with respect to the blank has been determined such a locating. device may be brought into contact with the record me-' dium at any' point on the surface of the blank to locate the edge of the cutter and then withdrawn. In this case, as in the first, the edge of the'cu'tter will be positively located in a predetermined position with re'-' spect to the surface to be shaved, but the'device for shaving the blank will be located in the wax of the-record medium and not in the air as in the first case. The locating device may be mounted on the cutter-bar or independently thereof and may be either fixed relatively to the cutter or have any desired adjustment relative thereto. It is preferably so constructed and combined with the other parts as to be retracted to a normally inoperative position, where it is out of the way when not in actual use for determining the position of the Working face 7 r of the cutter.

An important feature of the invention is the provision of'means for varying the predetermined relation between the working face of the locating device and the working face or edge of the cutter for the purpose of regulating the depth of the cut to be made and consequently the thickness of the chip taken. This means preferably comprises a device for effecting a fine adjustment of the relation between the Working faces of the locating device and cutter,

which predetermined relation is maintained throughout all other movements of the parts until it is desired to change such relation and. take a chip of another thickness.

Other features of the invention not hereinbefore referred to will be hereinafter described and claimed, and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whieh- Figure 1 is a plan and partial perspective viewof a shaving machine embodying my present invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail illustrating substantially in plan a cutter and locating device and cooperating parts in operative relation with a blank;'

Fig. 3 is'an elevation of the same, looking toward the edge of the cutter; Fig. 4 1s a detail of a clamping device for securing the cutter in its located position; Fig. 5 is an end elevation, partly insection, of the shaving machine, lookingfrom the right in Fig. 1, and Fig. 6 is a similar view ofa modification of the invention which "will be hereinafter described.

Similar characters designate like parts in if all the figures of the drawing.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, 2

" designates the bed or main frame of a shaving machine of well-known. type for. shaving graphophone and similar record blanks. Most of the parts of such a machine to which my invention may be applied are or maybe of well-known construction. With the exception of'the parts hereinbefore referred to and which will be hereinafter described more specifically, most of the parts I illustrated are of well-known'construction.'

These well-known parts comprise the usual driving mechanism, designated generally by 3, for transmitting power from the shaft 4;

- to the shaft 5 which supports the blank-carrier 6. This shaft 5 is supported, as is usual, by needle hearings or centers 7 andS, theformer of which may be in fixed rela-" tion with the main frame of the machine, while the latter is carried by the usual swinging arm 9 pivoted at 10 and having a pin or other suitable device 11 for locating the swinging arm 9 in its operative position with its center or pivot 8-in engagement withthe cupped end of the shaft 5. I The machine shown here has a hand-operated operating device, the winding handle being indicated at 12 and the transmitting means for imparting the longitudinal feed movement to the cutter, the cutter-bar and associated parts being illustrated as the usual complementary feed members 13 and 14;, the

former. being the feed-screw and the latter depending, as is usual, from the cuttercarrier. The machine shown also embodies the usual weighted operating lever or han-Z dle 15, also secured to the cutter-carrier, which is designated generally by 16, and an arena-ii auxiliary handle or lever 17 mounted on 15 and cooperative with the edge of the rail 18 in the well-known manner for the purpose of moving the main lever 15, the cuttercarrier and all parts mounted on the cuttercarrier to the idle or working position, as desired. Other features or details ofsaid machine also are or may be of Well-known construction and need not be specially described. The cutter-carrier and most of the parts mounted on it may be also of well known construction. For example, a cutter, such as 20, may be secured to a substantially cylindrical cutter-bar 21 movable in a bore in the cutter-carrier 16 toward and from the axis of the shaft 5 and hence toward and from the surface of a positioned blank to be shaved. The cutter-carrier is ordinarily 'so formed as to constitute a split clamp or clamping-sleeve adapted to be closed on the cutter-bar 21 to secure said cutter-bar in any desired adjusted position. This may be accomplished by means of a lever-arm 22 and a clamping-screw 23 to which said leverarm is secured. in the present case the screw 23 has a hexagonal head on which the lever-arm 22 may be secured in any one of nut 26 for maintaining the adjustable part 25 1n any desired position. The manner in which the split clamping-sleeve-or collar on the cutter-carrier 16 is closed upon and released from the periphery of thecutter-bar 21 will be obvious. (see particularly Fig. 2).

In connection with the other elements of a shaving machine, most of which elements have been hereinbefore described in detail, I make use of a suitable locating device or gage for predetermining the working position of the edge of the cutter 20. This 10- eating device may be constructed in many ways within the scope of my invention, but in all cases it should be so associated with the cutter as to have its working face at a predetermined distance from that of the cutter when the locating device is in its operative position. It is convenient to mount this cutter-locatlng device on the cutter-carrier 16, and it is so shown herein. So far as.

its main function is concerned it is immaterial whether this cutter-locating device he in fixed relation with the cutter or movable relatively thereto and mounted independently thereof. .111 Fig. 6 a fixed relation of the cutter and the locating device is illus trated, whereas in the other views the heat ing device is movable relatively to thecutter and isalso mounted independentlyof it. In these main views (Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive) I have illustrated one kind of independently mounted locating device which may be used. As here shown it comprises a rod 27 mounted in a bore in the cutter-carrier 16 adjacent to and substantially parallel with the bore for the cutter-bar and movable therein toward and from the surface of the blank to i be shaved. The center line of this bore, as shown passes through the center of the shaft 5, this being the preferred position.

At its working end which comes in contact with the surface of the record blank the 10- eating device 27 is preferably broad and fiat. so as to touch the wax surface but not indent or mar the same. At its opposite end the actuatin device preferably has means, such as the xed lateral arm 28, "for actuating the cutter bar and cutter and carrying them with it during the last part of its movementtoward the blank. The relation of the cutter and cutter-bar on the one hand and the locating device and actuator on the other is such that when the arm 28 is in contact with the head of the stop 25 the distance between the working faces of the cutter and the locating device will be'the depth of the chip to be taken by the cutter. The relation of these parts is such that the working face'of the. locating device, in the construction shown in Figs-1 to 5, will come in contact with the surface of the blank before the cutter can touch it, and it will thus be impossible for a careless or inexperienced operator in the ordinary handling of the machine to bring the cutter improperly in contact with the wax andmar the surface of the blank. When the working face of the locating device is in contact with the blank,

as just described, the cutter-bar (which, it

will be understood is looseand free to move lengthwise in the clamping device) should be secured in the located position, this being done by turning the lever-arm 22 to close the sides of the clamping-sleeve on the cutterbar. When the cutter is thus securedin its working relation the locating device may be shifted to its inoperative position, this being done in the preferred construction by suitable means, such as a spring 29 normally tending to shift the locating. device away from the blank to its inoperative position.

The inoperative position in this case is one in which the locating device is not only clear of the blank and out of the path of the chips taken by the cutter but also above and at one side of the cutter when the latter is in its cuttin position. The operations just described 0 bringing the locating device into contact with the surface of the blank and then clamping the cutter-bar in place when the cutter has thus been located the working relation, are both performed 1n the type of machine shown'herein when the lever or main operatinghandle is up in the and are designated by the .corresponding reference characters, except the means for locating or gaging the position of the cutter.. In this view the locating device Q is also illustrated as performing its locating or gaging function in the air and not in the wax of the record blank, that'is to say, it makes surface contact only, as in the constructionillustrated in Figs. 1 to- 5, with the blank and does not make an indentation therein. In this case, however, the locating Y device, which is designated generally by 27,

is or may be in fixed relation with the cutter-bar. It is illustrated as a simple pin threaded into a tapped diagonal bore in the cutter-bar, the threads being for the purpose of adjustment, that is, for the pur-' pose of regulating the predetermined relation between the working faces of the cutter, and the locating device, and hence regulating the thickness of the chip to be removed.

This locating device is not in a radial line 1 passing through the axis of the shaft'5 but is slightly below it.' The device'27 is located by merely -,moving the cutter-bar toward the axis of the shaft 5 until the working face of the locating device is in contact with the blank'while the main lever 15 is up, as shown in Fig. 6. In this position, as will be seen, the cutter isnot in contact with the blank. To bring the cutter into action the auxiliary'handle 17 is then dropped'to bring the stop-face of the main lever 15 into contactwith the rail 18. This .movement brings the cutter .into positionfor taking its chip and causes] the working face of thedev'ice 27 to move down and back away from the surface of the blank. Of course the cutter-baris clamped in place in the manner before described as soon as it is located.

The device shown in Figs. 1 to 5 is equally well adapted for use in shaving machines of the type which do not have the auxiliary handle 17 except that in that case the working face of the cutter will be so located relatively to that of the device 27 as'to be forced '125 into the wax of the blank a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the chip to be taken.

Other modifications of the means for carrying out my inventionwill readily suggest 13.,

themselves to the skilled constructor and need not be described in detail.

What I claim is:

1. In a machine for shaving graphophone blanks, the combination with means for supporting and turning a blank, of a cutter, and a cutter-locating device the working face of which when in its operative position is at a predetermined distance from that of the cutter, said locating device being movable into and out of operative position and being positively located in a predetermined position wholly out of contact with the blank while the blank is turning.

2. In a machine for shaving graphophone blanks, the combination-with means for supporting and turning a blank, of a cutter, a cutter-locating device the working face of which when in its operative position is at a predetermined distance from that of the cutter, said locating device being movable into and out of operative position. and means for normally holding said locating device in its inoperative position.

3. In a machine for shaving graphophone blanks, the combination with means for supporting and turning a blank, of a cutter, a cutter-locating device the working face of which when in its operative position is at a predetermined distance from that of the cutter, said locating device being movable into and out of operativeposition, and a spring for normally retracting said locating device to its inoperative position.

4. In a machine for shaving graphophone blanks, the combination with means for supporting and turning a blank, of a cutter, a

cutter-locating device the working face of which when in its operative position is at a predetermined distance from that of the cutter, said locating device being movable into and out of operative position in the latter of which it is clear of the blank and located above the working face of the cutter,

and a spring for normally retracting said locating device to its inoperative position.

5. In a machine for shaving graphophone blanks, the combination with means for supporting and turning a blank, of a cutter, and a cutter locating and actuating device movable as a whole away from the blank independently of the cutter and having means for moving the cutter toward its working position and also having a working face which when in its operative position is at a predetermined distance from that of the cutter, said cutter locating and actuating device being movable to said operative position.

6. In a machine for shaving graphophone blanks, the combination with means for supporting and turning a blank, of a cutter-carrier, a cutter-bar movable on said carrier into and out of working position, a cutter secured to said cutter-bar, and a cutter-lomemes],

eating device mounted on the cutter-carrier independently of said cutter-bar and having a working face which when in its operative position is at a predetermined distance from that of the cutter, said locating device being also movable into and out of operative pos1t1on.

7. In a machine for shaving graphophone blanks, the combination with means for sup porting and turning a blank, of a cuttercarrier movable to shift a cutter and a cutter-bar into or out of working position, a cutter-bar movable on said carrier into and out of working position, a cutter secured to said cutterbar, a cutter-locating device mounted on the cutter-carrier independently of said cutter-bar and movable away from the blank independently of the cutter and having a working face which when in its operative position is at a predetermined distance from that of the cutter, said locating device being also movable to said operative position, and means for clamping the cutterbar to the cutter-carrier when the working face of said locating device is in its operatlve position.

8. In a machine for shaving graphophone blanks, the combination with means for supporting and turning a blank, of a cutterearrier movable to shift a cutter and a cutter-bar into or out of working position, a cutter-bar movable on said carrier into or out of working position, a cutter secured to said cutter-bar, a cutter locating and actuating device mounted on the cutter-carrier independently of said cutter-bar and embodying means for moving the cutter-bar with it toward a working position and also having a working face which when in its operative position is at a predetermined distance from that of the cutter, said cutter-locating device being also movable into and out of operative position, and means for clamping the cutterbar to the cutter-carrier when the working face of said locating device is in its operative position. 7

9. In a machine for shaving graphophone blanks, the combination with means for sup porting and turning a blank, of a cutterearrier movable to shift a cutter and a cutter-bar into or out of working position, a cutter-bar movable on said carrier into or out of working position, a cutter secured to said cutter-bar, a cutter locating and actuating device mounted on the cutter-carrier independently of said cutter-bar and embodying means for moving the cutter-bar with it toward a working position and also hav ing a working face which when in its operative osition is at a predetermined distance m that of the cutter, said cutterlocati g device being also movable into and out of operative position, means for clamping the cutter-bar tothe cutter-carrier when the working face of said locating device is in its operative position, and means constantly tending to shift the cutter-locating and -actuating device away from its operative position and out of operative relation with said cutter-bar.

10. In a machine for shaving graphophone blanks, the combination with means for supporting and turning a blank, of a cutter-carrier movable to shift a cutter and a cutter-bar into or out of working position, a cutter-bar movable on said carrier into or out of working position, a cutter secured to said cutter bar, a cutter locating and actuating device mounted on the cutter-carrier independently of' said cutter-bar and embodying means for moving the cutter-bar with it toward a working position and also having a working face which when in its operative position .is at a predetermined distance from that of the cutter, said cutter-locating device being movable also into and out of operative position, means for varying the predetermined distance between said working faces to regulate the depth of the cut, and means for clamping the cutter-bar to the cutter-carrier when the working face of said locating device is in its operative position.

Signed at New. York, in the county of New York, and State of New York, this 16th day of January, A. D. 1911.

HENRY P. ROBERTS.

Witnesses:

JEANNETTE S'roRK, C. S. CHAMPION. 

